What Are Bottle Brush Miniature Trees?

The bells are jingling and the elves are hard at work…it must be the holidays! As we step deeper into the season, it is time to add some wintry whimsy and fun to your home and miniature garden. We usually focus on live miniature plants and the miniature accessories that bring out the best in flowers, trees, ground cover plants, and shrubs, but today I would like to shed some light on a holiday favorite: bottle brush miniature trees.

These faux trees get their name from a kitchen tool, the bottle brush. Of course, they are not really made out of bottle brushes. These durable faux miniature plants are a good fit for indoor container gardens and even outdoor miniature gardens. They come in snow-frosted finish or plain, and you can find them bedecked with miniature decorations or unadorned. There are many options to choose from, so you can find the bottle brush tree that suits your fairy garden best.

If you would like the miniature tree to be the centerpiece of your fairy garden, around which garden residents can gather, sleighs can park, and gifts can accumulate, you may want to choose a bedazzled version, and even add some twinkling string lights. You can “plant” your decorated tree in the town square, or in the front yard of a fairy cottage.

Those with larger gardens and fairy neighborhoods may want to create an entire miniature Christmas tree farm. Simply line up several trees, plain or snow-frosted, to make a stately display. Perhaps a few could be stacked on the ground, ready to be carted home by a gnome family. A tiny saw or little red wagon makes for a realistic scene.

Of course, bottle brush miniature trees are not just for miniature gardens. They also work well in miniature railroad scenes, as well as dollhouses. Dollhouse-enthusiasts can count on a bottle brush tree to instantly turn their interior scenes into winter wonderlands. Cut out a circle of red or buffalo check felt, and you instantly have a tree skirt. Pile some presents underneath the tree, and it will feel just like Christmas morning.

Outside of the miniature garden, dollhouse, and train worlds, you can even make use of bottle brush trees in your “life-size” home décor. Here are just a few ideas for your next bottle brush tree display at home:

• Display bottle brush trees on your fireplace mantle. Add twinkling lights, pinecones, and some batting to give the entire mantle a snowy, cozy look.
• Paint terra cotta pots with white paint, glossy or matte. Then “plant” each tree in its own pot. Decorate the trees with vintage jewelry, like pearl necklaces and bright earrings.
• Display a few bottle brush trees on a cake stand. Add miniature accessories like wrapped gifts or woodland animals. Then cover the stand with a glass dome. With the dome, there is no chance that your display will get knocked over by pets. For the same effect on a smaller scale, display your trees in a mason jar.
• Use baker’s twine to tie a bottle brush tree onto a wrapped gift. This adds color and seasonal flair that the recipient will not soon forget.
• If you make homemade wreaths, incorporate bottle brush trees into your design. This works especially well with white wreaths and green trees, or green wreaths and snowy trees. The bottle brush trees can be hot-glued to the center, as though they are peaking through the middle, or distributed throughout the wreath.

How will you use bottle brush trees in your holiday decorating, miniature or otherwise? Let us know in the comments.